Taiwan
Basics The country has 5 (physical) GSM-networks: * Chunghwa Telecom (Emome) 中華電信 * Taiwan Mobile (myfone) 台灣大哥大 * FarEasTone 遠傳電信 * T Star (formely Vibo) * APTC (Asia Pacific Telecom) 亞太電信 All other operators are on incompatible WiMAX or CDMA standard. The most popular MVNO is called ibon mobile ''' although Carrefour Supermarket also offers their own SIM card as well for voice only. Coverage and speeds are very good in the populated areas. 2G is on 900 and 1800 MHz (except T Star which is 3G/4G only). 3G is on all networks on 2100 MHz in up to DC-HSPA speeds and 4G/LTE started in 2014 on all networks and is now on 700, 900, 1800 and 2600 MHz! SIM cards are readily available for visitors in Taiwan, but having the proper identification is a must. To save time and avoid hassle purchasing your prepaid SIM prior to leaving the airport is completely recommended. Upon arrival in Taiwan you can choose to purchase a prepaid SIM the following ways: '''Airport purchase Immediately upon landing they're are kiosks located inside the terminals to purchase. These packages are specifically for tourists and often provide a better package and less hassle then if you are to choose option B, also the tourist SIM cards at the airports are combined with free Wifi access to the city's public hotspots for the duration of the purchased package. To purchase these prepaid Sims you will only need to have a Passport on hand. City Purchase If you forgot to grab one from the airport you can go to any of the Chunghwa Telecom stores in the city to purchase a prepaid SIM card, of course with regular prices. The difference with this option is that you will require a secondary peice of identification in the form of a driver's license, international driver's license or ARC. Also unlike option A, you will have to sign forms. Please note that stores in the city are less likely to speak English as well as the staff at the airport. Unlike the SIM cards purchased at the airport however, the number you receive from activating in store can be reloaded and the expiry date extended indefinitely as long as the period of time between recharges does not exceed six months. Quality of service Taiwan is one of the few countries that still offers real unlimited 3G internet. Unlimited broadband daily plans for 3G can still be purchased if you did not do so at the airport for a price of 999NT dollars via voice recharging with the automated system, or via online/app for 880NT. The unlimited 4G plan is no longer offered without signing up for an actual post paid plan. That being said, Rates are amongst the lowest in the world and networks are fast and efficient but be reminded that while 4G is marketed to be faster, there is no unlimited SIM for 4G and since speed is faster, data depletes faster as well. No restrictions on website access such as the Firewall in mainland China are imposed. Tethering is also allowed on plans as well. Furthermore, free public WiFi networks included in the purchase of airport SIMS also provide additional online access but users should be advised that the networks are known to be laggy and quite slow at times. Also please take care as they are public Wifi hotspots. Please use VPN when possible to safeguard your personal information. At airports special tourist plans also called airport plans are sold. These give unlimited rates for short-time users and may be a better deal for many visitors. At the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) near Taipeh all 3 major providers have their store side by side in the arrivals area. It's recommended that you compare offers, as there are frequent promotions only available at the airport. Emome '''(by Chunghwa Telecom) Chunghwa Telecom is the largest telecommunications provider in the country. In the mobile department, it’s also the market leader with about 1/3 of the nation’s subscribers. Their mobile products are marketed under the brand name ''Emome''. They have the best network and speeds in the country and offer 4G/LTE on 900, 1800 and 2600 MHz. '''Availability The prepaid SIM card called Ideal Card must be initially purchased at Chunghwa Telecom shops (search Google Maps for "中華電信" to find one near you they also have counters in Taoyuan International Airport). Recharges can be made in many convenience stores (7-Eleven, Hi-Life, OK Mart, Family Mart), at Chunghwa Telecom outlets, business offices, but most prefer to simply recharge online using credit card payment, ATM payment, or Line Pay at ( https://www.idealcard.com.tw/ ) The site currently does not however have a english page and the whole process is in Chinese, however users can make use of Chrome's translate extension or a similar translation app to guide them through the process. You select the recharge amount by monetary amount on the left side adding value to your prepaid account, or you can purchase by the data amount directly to the account. Upon selection you will confirm the account number and then be brought to a secondary page to complete payment by Visa. .Recharges expire 180 days from activation time, if not recharged again. To do so, recharge vouchers are available. The recharge voucher comes with a fixed value and an identification code. The code which is attached to the receipt the cashier will give you at 7/11, familymart etc, is valid for a period of 180 days, Which is extended each time the card is used to credit your Chunghwa SIM card with an additional deposit. As long as you continue to credit your account using a valid voucher you will be able to continue using the number assigned to your card. Locate the 12-digit voucher number of the receipt, Dial 928 from your handset, or 0800-080-928 from another phone, and follow the voice instructions to recharge your SIM Card. If you purchase a data amount instead of a monetary amount, you won't need to actually follow the process of dialing 539 and 928, rather once you pay for the data volume, you will receive a text confirming that your purchase has been registered with your account and that the data volume has been confirmed. If you do choose to purchase a monetary value to add to the account, you will have to locate the code on the receipt and dial 928, and key in the voucher number. Then call 539 and select what plan you want to subscribe too. If your card balance is less than NT$ 60, or the expiration date is less than 15 days, you will receive a warning prompt every time a non-toll free outgoing call is made (the call will not be disrupted.) If the remaining airtime of your card remains only 20 seconds during an outgoing call, you will hear a series warning beeps so that steps can be taken to end the call gracefully. To check your balance and expiry date, you can also dial 928 on your handset. Note: Sometimes you recieve this notification regardless, and depending on which plan you are using. 3G plans SIM card is sold at NT$ 300 with the same credit preloaded, but no data allowance. Default rate for 3G is NT$0.05 per KB. You can add their 3G Broadband Day Plans with unlimited 3G data: * 1 day: NT$ 100 * 3 days: NT$ 250 * 5 days: NT$ 300 * 7 days: NT$ 450 * 10 days: NT$ 500 * 30 days: NT$ 900 A day is full 24 hours. Activation by calling 539 free of charge. 4G/LTE plans They sell different 4G/LTE starter packs: * NT$ 300: including NT$ 120 credit, 1.2 GB and 100 SMS * NT$ 500: including NT$ 200 credit, 2.2 GB and 250 SMS * NT$ 1000: 8 GB Default rate for 4G data is NT$ 0.001 per KB. These Data Volume Plans can be added: * 1 GB for 60 days: NT$ 180 * 2.2 GB for 60 days: NT$ 300 * 5 GB for 120 days: NT$ 699 * 8 GB for 180 days: NT$ 1000 To activate, dial 539 free of charge. It usually takes around 15 minutes to activate the service. However, the actual time should be based on system setting. The subscriber will receive an SMS for service activation and termination information. If data connection is being used at that time, the device shall be turned off. Restart your device to enjoy the special rate under this service. You will receive SMS before (around one hour before termination of plan) and after termination of the plan. The system will send out SMS notification when the service is about to expire, and automatically cut-off data connection once service expires. If subscribers purchase the data by volume bundle again before the service expires or the allowance is used up, the expiry period will be extended immediately for another 60 days. Tourist Plans The following unlimited data 4G/LTE SIM packages are available at airports including Taipei Taoyuan Airport. They may be available in other service centers. These packages can't be renewed or extended (Edit: These packages can be and have always been extendable. All vouchers and aspects of the prepaid program last for x amount of days, and if you recharge the account, it will not expire, I've personally had my prepaid number for 3 years without an issue.) * 3-day pass: NT$ 300 including NT$ 100 credit and unlimited data and WiFi * 5-day pass: NT$ 300 including NT$ 50 credit and unlimited data and WiFi * 5-day pass: NT$ 500 including NT$ 300 credit and unlimited data and WiFi * 7-day pass: NT$ 500 including NT$ 150 credit and unlimited data and WiFi * 10-day pass: NT$ 500 including NT$ 100 credit and unlimited data and WiFi * 15-day pass: NT$ 700 including NT$ 100 credit and unlimited data and WiFi * 15-day pass: NT$ 800 including NT$ 250 credit and unlimited data and WiFi * 30-day pass: NT$ 1000 including NT$ 430 credit and unlimited data and WiFi * WeChat go: NT$ 250 including NT$ 100 credit, 1 GB data and 205 MB for WeChat valid for 16 days One day is full 24 hours. For IDD calls reduced rates are given through the 019 prefix. This prefix has to be dialed before the country code. To connect to 50,000 hotspots of Chungwha WiFi on an iPhone you need to download this profile and on an Android your device needs to support EAP-SIM verification. More info * APN: emome /or/ internet * Website in English: http://www.emome.net/channel?chid=251 * 4G plans: https://www.twgate.net/prepaidcard/product_en.html Taiwan Mobile '(myfone) Taiwan Mobile is the 2nd provider in the country. It has a good coverage and speeds. LTE has started on 700, 1800 MHz and is also available for prepaid as of 2015. They market their products under the brand of “myfone” too. '''Availability ' You can get their prepaid starter packs at many stores like in their own “myfone Stores” List: Service Locations . 4G/LTE prepaid SIM (starting at NT$ 300) is the most common and heavily promoted option. 3G prepaid SIM cards (starting at NT$ 345) are another option, if available and you are not a high volume data user. Once you arrive at Taoyuan Airport, exit the arriving hall to your left side and you will see the Taiwan Mobile Service Center at this side of the hall. The airport store has limited hours from 8am-10pm, which does not match well for international flights that are arriving very early or very late. Passport is the only required ID needed to purchase the SIM from official outlets; 2nd form of ID is no longer asked. '''Recharges Recharge vouchers of NT$ 300, 600 or 1000 are available at all major convenience stores throughout Taiwan, Taoyuan Airport myfone Service Center and TWM myfone outlets. Dial *101*2*VOUCHER# to top-up. You can also recharge online. Visit their english TopUp Website and enter the phone number and your passport ID. If you have problems logging in with your passport ID, try to change the letter '0' with 'O' and/or vice versa. The validity of your card is extended by another 180 day. Check balance: dial *867#. Check data balance: dial *867*100# 3G Plans Their 3G prepaid cards and data plans are no longer sold at Taiwan Mobile retail stores even though it's still listed on their website. Retail stores only sell the 4G/LTE prepaid SIM cards. Customer service claims that the 3G card can still be ordered online or over the phone via a credit card, which may not be a good option for short-term visitors. 3G SIM cards are NT$ 299-350. Default data is NT$ 0.045 per KB on their 3G cards. They offer two types of data plans: * Volume Plans: ** 250 MB for 30 dayy: NT$ 50 (only available to 3G SIM card customers) ** 1.2 GB for 60 days: NT$ 180 ** 2.2 GB for 60 days: NT$ 300 ** 5 GB for 90 days: NT$ 699 ** 8 GB for 185 days: NT$ 1000 * Day Plans with unlimited data (for 3G SIM cards only): ** 1 day: NT$ 100 ** 3 days: NT$ 250 ** 5 days: NT$ 350 ** 7 days: NT$ 450 ** 10 days: NT$ 600 ** 30 days: NT$ 800 Once you buy the SIM, simply choose your data plan. Usage over the allotment is charged by the default rate, so be sure to renew the data pack if you need more data. To activate the volume-based or day-based data plan, dial 535 from your phone and follow the IVR instructions. 4G Plans According to reports their 4G plans are the only prepaid SIM cards now sold at retail stores. They have 4 starters available. * NT$ 300: 1.2 GB data for 60 days, NT$ 2000 free intranet calls for 30 days, NT$ 100 credit * NT$ 300: unlimited data for 3 days * NT$ 500: 2.2 GB data for 60 days, NT$ 2000 free intranet calls for 30 days, NT$ 195 credit * NT$ 1000: 8 GB data for 185 days. All these plans can be topped up with the Volume Plans packages from above that will be on 4G too, but not with the Day Plans. Exception: 250 MB Volume Plan is only available on 3G. For 4G plans different by Day Plans are offered with unlimited data: *1 day: NT$ 100 *3 days: NT$ 300 *5 days: NT$ 500 *30 days (= 720 hours): NT$ 899. Data will be throttled to 5 Mbps having reached 10 GB For activation dial 535. Tourist plans Like Chunghwa Telecom they sell at airports and some stores special prepaid SIM cards for short-term users, all with real unlimited data: * on 3G only (available only at Taoyoun Internatl. Airport) with unlimited data ** for 15 days: NT$ 100 airtime: NT$ 700 ** for 30 days: NT$ 450 airtime: NT$ 1000 * on 4G/LTE with unlimited data ** for 3 days: NT$ 100 airtime: NT$ 300 ** for 5 days: NT$ 50 airtime: NT$ 300 ** for 5 days: NT$ 300 airtime: NT$ 500 ** for 7 days: NT$ 150 airtime: NT$ 500 ** for 7 days: NT$ 300 airtime: NT$ 700 ** for 10 days: NT$ 100 airtime: NT$ 500 ** for 10 days: NT$ 400 airtime: NT$ 800 ** for 15 days: NT$ 400 airtime: NT$ 1000 More info * APN: internet * Website in English: http://english.taiwanmobile.com/english/product/4GPrepaidCard.html * Check balance: dial *867#. Check data balance: dail *867*100# FarEasTone FarEasTone is the 3rd network in Taiwan. It started in 1998, offers 3G and launched 4G/LTE in 2014 on 700, 1800 and 2600 MHz, opened for prepaid. It has good coverage and speeds. Availability Their prepaid card is called “IF” and available for NT$ 350 with the same credit on in their FET stores and outlets. List: FET Stores To select English as your default language, dial 777. After the greeting announcement, press "4" to switch languages. Then press "1" for English. The initial credit of NT$350 included in this SIM will be valid for 6 months from the first call you make. Every time you add credit to your account, your account valid period will be extended for 6 months from the date the credit is added. You can top up via FET and convenience stores. You can recharge your credit amounts via store service people or kiosk,then dial 777 directly from your mobile phone, and follow the voice instruction. As of now, there are 3 types of credit amounts NT$ 300, NT$ 500, NT$ 1,000. Data feature packs Default rate outside of packages is NT$ 0.0025 / 128 bytes. So use packs. They have multiple packages: *3G data by days with unlimited data: ** 1 day: NT$ 100 ** 3 days: NT$ 250 ** 5 days: NT$ 350 ** 30 days: NT$ 800 *3G data by volume: ** 1 GB for 30 days: NT$ 180 ** 2 GB for 30 days: NT$ 350 * 4G/LTE data for 30 days: ** 1.2 GB: NT$ 180 ** 2.2 GB: NT$ 300 ** 5 GB: NT$ 699 ** 8 GB: NT$ 1000 * 4G/LTE unlimited data for 30 days: NT$ 899 To subscribe dial 777, press 5 and 1 or 2. Or go to FET or convenient stores including 7-Eleven, Family-Mart, OK, Hi-Life. Tourist plans Like Chungwha and Taiwan Mobile they also have tourist plans sold at the airport at the similar prices like Taiwan Mobile (see above) and compare for promotions at the airport shops. More info * APN: internet * Website: http://www.fetnet.net/cs/Satellite/eCorporate/ecoPD2_1_1 T STAR '''(Taiwan Star, formerly Vibo) T Star a.k.a. Taiwan Star is Taiwan’s smallest network. It was called Vibo before. It has a good coverage and reasonable speeds. It is on 3G 2100 MHz only and 4G/LTE on 900 and 2600 MHz with a 98% coverage in 2015, no 2G/GSM coverage. You can also check coverage before choosing: Tstar coverage map. '''Tourist SIM: Taiwan Card Their Taiwan card for tourists is only available for free from T-STAR branch at Terminal 1 and 2 of Taoyuan International Airport (map). It is only sold to tourists showing two seperate IDs. It's valid for 180 days and you can top up these combined plans/packages on 3G or 4G/LTE: *on 3G with unlimited data: ** NT$ 450: for 5 days with NT$ 300 airtime ** NT$ 750: for 30 days with NT$ 500 airtime * on 4G/LTE with unlimited datsa: ** NT$ 250: for 3 days with NT$ 100 airtime ** NT$ 250: for 5 days with NT$ 50 airtime ** NT$ 450: for 7 days with NT$ 120 airtime ** NT$ 450: for 10 days with NT$ 100 airtime For more days, you can top-up one of these plans at convenience store chains: 7-Eleven, Family Mart, OK Mart, and Hi-Life or online by credit card. More info * APN: internet * Website: http://www.tstartel.com/static/twcard/en/index.htm ibon mobile by 7-Eleven ibon mobile is the biggest MVNO in the country, sold exclusively in the around 5000 7-Eleven stores in Taiwan. It operates on the network of FarEasTone in 2G and 3G, but still no 4G/LTE yet (see above). Availability ''' Their SIM card is available exclusively in about 5,000 7-Eleven stores. Two different prepaid starter packs are offered: * For NT$ 299 with 24 hours unlimited data and NT$ 299 airtime * For NT$ 399 with 120 hours unlimited data and NT$ 50 airtime Top-up vouchers are sold at all 7-Eleven stores. They have 9 different voucher cards for voice or data. The 3 for voice and text are for NT$ 50, 300 and 500. '''Data feature packs You have to load data by voucher cards sold at 7-Eleven stores. They have 7 denominations: * 1.2 GB for 30 days: NT$ 180 * 3 GB for 90 days: NT$ 450 * 1 day, unlimited: NT$ 100 * 3 days, unlimited: NT$ 250 * 5 days, unlimited: NT$ 350 * 7 days, unlimited: NT$ 420 * 30 days, unlimited: NT$ 800 More info * APN: seven3g /or/ internet * Website in English: http://www.7-11.com.tw/ibonmobile/english1_1.html Free WiFi In Taiwan there are some public WiFi networks available that visitors can use for free while staying in the country close to an hotspot. iTaiwan WiFi The government of Taiwan runs a free WiFi network that now has about 4,400 hotspots in major tourist spots, transportation hubs, cultural establishments and government offices all over the island. You'll need to apply for your iTaiwan account at the iTaiwan online registration system for foreign visitors. Effective use of time is 30 days, if necessary, be extended to 60 days to 90 days. * More info in English: https://itaiwan.taiwan.net.tw/ Taipeh Free Public WiFi Access In the capital of Taipei the city runs a free WiFi network in buses, MRT stations and public places. The indoor/outdoor hotspot SSIDs for the Taipei Free wireless network service are “TPE-Free” and “TPE-Free_CHT.” The SSID for affiliate public busses in Taipei is “TPE-Free Bus.” It serves indoor Taipei City Hall, 12 district administration centers, city libraries & branches, Taipei City Hospital & branches, Taipei MRT stations, and Metro malls and outdoors on main streets, main commercial and residential areas and populated public areas. Taipei Free service is applicable to all and is not limited to Taipei citizens; the service is free and applicable to all with notebooks, pads, smartphones, or mobile devices within the wireless network coverage. Foreign passengers can also apply for an account at the airport or visitor centers to take advantage of this service. You can register at several hotels (list), or with many overseas mobile numbers shown here. * More info in English: http://www.tpe-free.taipei.gov.tw/tpe/index_en.aspx Category:Asia